Weekly Response #1:

DUE NEXT WEEK (February 2nd): Read “Run, You Fat Bastard” (handout review) and 1) identify the elements and components of the review , by circling and labeling them, and then 2) write a two-page reflection piece on what variables may be at work within the review. 

1) Identify the elements and components: After reading the review, circle and label what you have identified as the review's basic elements and components, as discussed in class. Where are the summary, main body of analysis, and “argument” (in which the reviewer states his/her overall endorsement or criticism and why)? Where are examples of the reviewer's ‘outside' knowledge, tone, and personal voice? 

2) Write a two-page reflection piece: After identifying the major elements and components, think about what contextual issues and variables may be at work within the review, and why? Below are some questions that you may ask yourself. You are not expected to answer all of these questions – you could focus on just a few that you find most interesting, and/or feel free to ask/answer different ones:  

• How much does the review cover the actual book versus its author? By the time you are finished reading the review, how much do you feel like you've learned about the book? How much about its author?

• Does the book and/or the author of the book that is being reviewed appear to have any particular “agenda,” according to the reviewer, and if so, what might that be?

• Does the review (or reviewer) appear to have an agenda?

• What is the tone of the reviewer? Can you tell whether Henderson likes or dislikes the book and/or its author? If he does not seem to directly offer an opinion of the book he is reviewing, how does the use of tone and adjectives and/or adverbs, for example, convey his opinion of the book and/or its author?

• For what type of audience do you think this review is written? (think in terms of age, lifestyle, ethnicity, class, and so forth) . . . try to imagine and describe its typical reader (who the review would be trying to convince), why, and how (examples from review).

• What other variables might be informing the review? Does the review, for example, speak to any particular social culture, historical perspective, or ideology (if you don't know what this word means, look it up, because we will be using it a LOT in this class)?

• How does the type of publication (The Chicago Reader) inform Henderson's review? Would Henderson write the same type of a review for The New York Times? How might it be different?  

** Always, always back up your thoughts with some example, quote, or explanation. 

Example: Smith suggests that the main actor was far more dramatic than necessary when she writes, “Accompanied by an overwrought slinging of arms, Miss Tutu produced a high-pitched and pretentious nasal-ridden voice that only served to distract the audience from an otherwise admirable play.” Furthermore, use of descriptive words such as “overwrought” and “pretentious” imply that Smith not only found the main actor “distract[ing],” but also annoying.